Spring 2012

National Marine Sanctuaries

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Why Special Places Count 

 in Americas Future
DIRECTOR’SLETTER

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is part of NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service. 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD 

20910 | Phone: 301-713-3125 | Web: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov

SANCTUARY WATCH is a publication of the Communications, Outreach and Education Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. NOAA is 

an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Cover Photos: Filmstrip (top to bottom) - Flickr user “rachelsbabies,” Claire Fackler, Flickr user “citron_smurf,” Tad Neylor, Jenny 

Stock; Standalone Photo - National Park Service

How to Subscribe: To subscribe to Sanctuary Watch electronically, 

please send an e-mail to requests@willamette.nos.noaa.gov and put 

the following in the e-mail subject line: subscribe sanctuarywatch

DIVISION chief.............. Michiko Martin

editor ........................... Matt Dozier

Design/Layout ............ Matt McIntosh

Copy editor ................. Matt Dozier

 contributors

 Matt Dozier Vernon Smith

Tracy Hajduk Robert Steelquist

Matt McIntosh Valarie Thorpe

Alex Melligon Andrew Turner

Printed on Recycled Paper

2 Value of Special Places

4 Sanctuary Voices: Mark Tercek

5 Star of the Sea: Don Walsh

6 What’s Your Special Place?

8 Chesapeake Watermen

10 Surfing the Olympic Coast

12 Critter Files

14 Sanctuary Snapshot

special places

In this Issue

When you hear the words “special places,” you likely think of a place in a person’s life 

that resonates within their heart and their memories. Special places are important to 

us as individuals, as members of communities, and for the nation at large. They are 

sources of powerful emotions and we have an almost instinctive reaction to protect them, defend 

them and share them.

Once lost, special places can’t be recreated. If we had allowed huge hotels, chain restaurants 

and strip malls in Yosemite, we could not really connect the natural beauty of El Capitan to the 

American consciousness.

Our nation is full of special places like parks, monuments, town squares and historic homestead 

markers, but many more don’t have any special designation. A remote area of the Chesapeake 

known only to a few watermen families for generations, or a mountain stream that winds its way to Big 

Sur that is a spiritual retreat to dedicated hikers, are both special places to a lucky few. In this issue 

we celebrate special places, their importance in the lives of Americans, their role in defining our future, 

and their capability to help sustain our nation’s health and wealth in a time of change and uncertainty.

Special places are important because only by addressing, demonstrating and connecting attention to discrete places is it possible to convey a sense of problems, of solutions, or of opportunities 

that connect citizens directly to their environment and their future. A place gives context, realism, 

a window into which messages or solutions become understandable and digestible. The more 

special a place is, the more powerful the effect of demonstration; the more special places that are 

orchestrated and connected in demonstration, the far greater the range of effects.

Your national marine sanctuaries are not just about places on the map and the waters therein, 

but rather represent nationally important, transformative and beloved places of significance to our 

nation’s natural riches. With everything from charismatic creatures like whales and sea turtles to 

historic treasures beneath the waves, national marine sanctuaries are places that are truly special 

and representative of other areas just as exceptional — all of which can speak to us and help us 

navigate the future.

One special place that is not a sanctuary but is known to us all is the Marianas Trench. In this issue 

we salute Don Walsh, best known for his 1960 dive nearly seven miles beneath the surface in the Marianas Trench aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste, for his leadership, exploration and spirit of adventure.

Special places give us all something to cherish, to defend and to experience. Join us in both 

celebrating all of the places that are special to us, and in finding ways to make them relevant to 

solving the emerging problems of our time. We need your creative energy.

Sincerely,

Daniel J. Basta, Director

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Olympic Coast

Cordell Bank

Gulf of the Farallones

Papahānaumokuākea

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale

Monterey Bay

Channel Islands

Fagatele Bay, American Samoa (U.S.)

Rose Atoll Marine National Monument

Thunder Bay

Stellwagen Bank

Monitor

Gray’s Reef

Florida Keys

Flower Garden Banks

National Marine Sanctuary System

National Marine Sanctuary

Marine National Monument

Proposed for sanctuary designation

Scale varies in this perspective. Adapted from National Geographic Maps.

SPECIAL PLACES
Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 1

The faces of two lost crewmen of the ironclad USS Monitor, recreated in plaster based on 

skeletal remains recovered from the vessel’s turret, were unveiled March 6 in Washington.

Photo: NOAA

NEWSSPLASH

Reconstructed Faces of Monitor Crew Unveiled in D.C. Public’s Help Sought in Solving 150-Year-Old Mystery of Civil War Ironclad’s Sailors’ Identities

NOAA’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary 

took a significant step toward broadening its reach 

in Lake Huron with the recent announcement that 

staff will prepare an environmental impact statement 

for possible expansion of the sanctuary. Support for 

the move dates back to the sanctuary’s management 

plan review in 2006, when NOAA received public input expressing interest in extending the sanctuary’s 

boundaries to include the waters adjacent to Alcona 

and Presque Isle counties. In 2007, the Thunder Bay 

Sanctuary Advisory Council adopted a resolution that 

Thunder Bay Sanctuary Explores Potential Expansion

COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR BOUNDARY SHIFT DATES BACK TO 2006 

Nearly 150 years after the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor sank in 

a storm the night of Dec. 31, 1862, the public got a rare opportunity 

to gaze into the reconstructed faces of two of the crewmembers who 

served on one of history’s most famous ships. The skeletal remains 

of the sailors were discovered in 2002 during a NOAA expedition 

that raised the Monitor’s gun turret from the ocean floor. Forensic 

anthropologists at Louisiana State University reconstructed the 

faces, and UPS delivered the fragile cargo safely to Washington, 

D.C., for a March 6 unveiling ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial. 

Hosted by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the 

Navy Memorial Foundation, the event garnered national headlines 

and brought widespread attention to NOAA’s ongoing efforts to identify the two sailors. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries also 

hopes to bury the remains of the two sailors in Arlington National 

Cemetery and erect a monument dedicated to all 16 crewmembers 

of the Monitor who lost their lives when the ship went down.

supported expanding the boundaries. The Thunder 

Bay sanctuary has proven economically important to 

a region that has seen the loss of other industries. 

By increasing tourism and related business development, the sanctuary is working with partners to encourage sustainable tourism and use of the Great 

Lakes. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will 

review public and stakeholder comments on the proposed action and its alternatives. For more information, visit the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary 

website at http://thunderbay.noaa.gov. 

APP PUTS TIDEPOOLS

OF CALIFORNIA AT

YOUR FINGERTIPS

Ever explore a shoreline 

and come across a creature you don’t recognize? 

There’s an app for that. 

Teachers, students, 

naturalists and anyone 

who is curious about California’s tidepools can now access a wealth of information about these remarkable places just by reaching for their iPhone or iPad. Now available in Apple’s 

App Store, the free “California Tidepools” application 

offers a searchable database with photos, detailed 

descriptions and fun facts that make it easy to identify 

and learn about the creatures that live in the rocky 

shallows. As of early April, over a thousand people 

had downloaded the app.

The app was developed through collaboration 

between UC Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, 

and volunteers from Citrix Systems Inc. It was also 

developed to promote the upcoming Outreach Center for Teaching Ocean Science (OCTOS), a state-of 

-the-art facility that the Marine Science Institute and 

Channel Islands sanctuary are developing on the 

UCSB campus. OCTOS will provide up-close, immersive and interactive marine science education to 

students of all ages. 

VISITOR CENTER TO MAKE A SPLASH IN SANTA CRUZ

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s new Exploration Center is set to open July 23, bringing a new hub of ocean 

education and interaction to Santa Cruz, Calif., just steps from 

the water and the famous Beach Boardwalk. The center, which 

earned a LEED Gold Certification for sustainable design, will connect visitors to the remarkable underwater world of the sanctuary, 

its habitats and marine life. Construction is currently underway on 

the center’s interactive exhibits, state-of-the-art classroom, theater and bookstore. The exhibits will feature ocean ecosystems 

and conservation themes ranging from deep-sea canyons to how to enjoy the sanctuary responsibly.

The Exploration Center is the product of a collaboration between NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the city of Santa Cruz. To support the center’s development, individuals and organizations that make a $500 donation can have their names engraved on commemorative tiles. Visit http://montereybay.noaa.gov for more information. Photo: Mark DiOrio
2 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

America is a nation filled with special 

places, from the sweeping grandeur of the 

Rocky Mountains to the idyllic shores of 

the Florida Keys.

From an early age, our children 

learn about Yellowstone, Yosemite, 

Mount Rushmore, Gettysburg, the 

Grand Canyon — iconic locations 

whose names resonate with deep cultural and historical significance. We 

celebrate these places for their breathtaking scenery, but they mean more 

to us than just images on a postcard. 

They are part of the fabric of America, 

sources of national pride and inspiration that are recognized by all for their 

extraordinary worth.

What makes a place special? Is 

it scenic beauty? Economic value? 

Unique or endangered natural resources? Scientific or historical significance? All of these traits and more 

can contribute to our appreciation of a 

place, and different people often value 

the same place for different reasons.

The wreck of the RMS Titanic, for instance, is an iconic piece of America’s cultural memory. The dramatic, emotionally 

gripping story of the ship’s sinking 100 

years ago has been retold countless times 

and captivated millions of people. But the 

wreck site itself is also a somber memorial, a historical monument, and a scientific 

laboratory. 

And yet, a place need not be grand or 

spectacular to have special meaning to us. 

Think about a place that’s special to you. 

A humble field or stream where you 

used to play as a child could be every bit 

as important to you as a national park or 

monument. The emotional connections 

we form with special places shape who 

we are, our memories and our values. 

They inspire us, support and sustain us, 

influence our perspectives and become 

part of our identity. 

One characteristic is shared by all 

special places: They are irreplaceable. 

Fear of losing something evokes a strong 

emotional response from those who care 

about it, and when a special place is under threat, we will push hard to save it. 

And the ocean — 72 percent of this planet — is under threat.

In 1969, a disastrous oil spill off Santa 

Barbara — the biggest in U.S. history at 

the time — coated beaches with black 

sludge and killed marine life along hundreds of miles of picturesque Southern 

California coastline. The public outcry 

for better protection of this special place 

and other places like it in our ocean 

helped drive the creation of the National 

Marine Sanctuary System in 1972.

2

by Matt Dozier Photo: Jim Cassick
Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 3

For 40 years, our national marine 

sanctuaries have worked to protect special 

areas in our coastal and ocean waters. The 

sanctuaries are national treasures of extraordinary aesthetic beauty, biodiversity, historical 

connections and economic productivity. 

Even more important than what they protect, however, is what they stand for: the 

idea that it’s worth preserving not just these 

14 unique areas, but all places, both within 

sanctuaries and without; under the sea and 

all around us. Sanctuaries help people recognize a shared set of human values that are 

critical to how we navigate a complex, changing world. 

As Theodore Roosevelt 

once said, “The movement for the conservation of wild life and 

the larger movement 

for the conservation 

of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in 

The movement for 

the conservation of 

wild life and the 

larger movement for 

the conservation of 

all our natural resources are essentially 

democratic in spirit, 

purpose, and method.” 

- Theodore Roosevelt

Photos (left to right): Flickr user “rudynorff,” Flickr user “V La,” Library of Congress, Carey van Blommestein, Flickr user “Mike Miley”

Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 3

spirit, purpose, and method.” 

He was talking about our responsibility to make hard choices as we consider 

the importance of those resources not only 

in the present, but in the future.

When we heed President Roosevelt’s 

words and take responsibility for the places 

that matter to us, it creates an ethic of conservation that will make the world a better place 

— for our own sake, and for the sake of generations to come. 

Photo: Flickr user “BROOKE_b19”
4 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

SANCTUARYVOICES

Mark Tercek

President and CEO, The Nature Conservancy

These values are worth fighting to keep. When the Caribbean’s 

main reef-building species of coral was listed as threatened under the 

Endangered Species Act in 2006, it became clear that our coral reefs 

were in need of some direct and innovative intervention.

Our coral planting work funded by NOAA in the Florida Keys is the 

largest marine restoration project of its kind. With an infusion of Recovery Act funds in 2009, the project sought to grow 12,000 corals and 

instead has grown 30,000 and employed 80 people — a terrific return 

on investment. 

And this is just one of eight Recovery Act-funded coastal restoration 

projects TNC is working on with NOAA — projects that have created 

or sustained more than 870 jobs. That compares very favorably to 

the number of jobs typically produced by “gray” infrastructure projects, 

such as levees, dams, roads and bridges.

And once complete, these coastal restoration projects will pay for 

themselves many times over through economically valuable services 

that healthy, functioning coastal systems provide to people. Already, 

these investments in habitat restoration are producing fish for recreational and commercial harvests, filtering water and reducing pollution, and making coastal communities more resilient to sea level rise 

and coastal erosion. 

While this one project won’t put us at the finish line from a restoration standpoint, results like this suggest there is reason for cautious 

optimism for the world’s special places, from the coral reefs of the Caribbean to the rainforests of Brazil. But to succeed in the long-term 

protection of these places, we need to think beyond their aesthetic values and connect nature to what concerns many people the most today 

— how to make their lives better, safer, healthier and more prosperous.

By considering nature’s value as well as its wonder, we can better 

safeguard the lands and waters that sustain us all. 

Sanctuary Voices is a guest column featuring views and opinions from the national 

marine sanctuary community.

I have a great job — my work at The 

Nature Conservancy (TNC) takes me 

to some of the world’s most spectacular 

marine places. I’ve come face-to-face 

with dozens of sharks in Palmyra Atoll, one of the world’s best examples of 

a predator-dominated ecosystem. I’ve watched a pair of orcas chase a sea 

turtle in the Galapagos Islands. And I’ve met with local villagers in Papua 

New Guinea who have banded together to protect their piece of the Coral 

Triangle — home to an incredible 76 percent of the world’s coral species. 

What makes these places special? Why protect them? 

The wonders of diving on a vibrant, thriving coral reef or kayaking 

through a healthy salt marsh are important reasons for protecting our 

oceans and coasts. But to succeed in ocean conservation at scale, we 

must do more than celebrate the innate wonders of special places. We 

need to talk much more about their value. 

In the marine realm, for example, protecting our planet’s special 

places can improve fish catches, create new jobs, enhance livelihoods 

of coastal communities and protect important sources of medicine.

Right now, work is happening in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary 

that does all of these.

Scientists from TNC, NOAA and partner organizations — Mote Marine Lab, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, Coral 

Restoration Foundation, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and Biscayne and Dry Tortugas National Parks — have grown 30,000 nurserygrown staghorn and elkhorn corals and begun to transplant them onto 

reefs in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our hope is that the transplanted young corals will thrive and reproduce, speeding the recovery 

of these two threatened species, and by extension provide even better 

habitat for the myriad species that people depend on in these locations.

Coral reefs are among the most biologically rich and productive ecosystems on earth. Their structure attracts thousands of young fish seeking a safe place to hide from predators as they grow into adulthood. 

Home to 25 percent of the world’s marine species, reefs provide the 

very foundation for local fisheries, tourism and recreation economies.

What’s more, this diversity holds great potential for medical research. Compounds found in coral reefs are essential sources of 

medicine for everything from cancer to diabetes to Alzheimer’s. For 

example, the drug Ara-C — derived from a compound discovered in 

a Caribbean sea sponge — has helped save the lives of millions of 

people with leukemia. And today, women battling breast cancer have 

a new weapon in Halavan, a drug derived from a sponge found in the 

temperate reefs off the coast of Japan. These medicines are now created synthetically in a lab, so we don’t need to keep going back to the 

reefs to maintain our supply. But the sponge had to be there for scientists to study in the first place.

Photo: ©Dave Lauridsen

The Nature Conservancy’s President 

and CEO Mark Tercek snorkels with 

members of the Asia Pacific Council in 

Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.

Photo: Mark Godfrey ©2008 The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a leader in working to solve complex global 

challenges and conserve special places both on land and in the ocean.
Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 5

Don Walsh doesn’t think of 

himself as an explorer.

“I don’t think I’ve ever considered myself an explorer,” 

says the man who completed 

the first descent to the bottom 

of the Marianas Trench and whose decorated career includes more 

than 50 expeditions to the polar regions. “Other people call me an explorer, but that’s for them to judge, not me.”

Walsh isn’t just being modest. A renowned oceanographer, engineer, 

author, educator and retired U.S. Navy captain, he has traveled to the 

far reaches of the planet in the name of science, but says he doesn’t fit 

into the “traditional mold” of explorers like Magellan or Captain Cook. 

For him, exploration has a different meaning.

“I define exploration as curiosity that’s acted upon,” Walsh says. 

“Anyone can be curious about something, but not everyone is willing 

to follow that impulse.”

Before he ever set foot aboard a submarine or braved the bitter 

cold of Antarctica, Walsh developed a fascination with the water as a 

young man growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1930s and 

1940s. He says he remembers riding ferryboats across the Bay, hanging around the waterfront, and watching the construction of the Golden 

Gate Bridge from the living room of his mother’s house in Berkeley.

“I just liked to be down on the waterfront, to see the ships, the beach,” 

he remembers. “From my earliest recollection I wanted to be a sailor.”

Walsh says he dreamed of one day sailing on the big ships he watched 

streaming endlessly through the Golden Gate. Little did he realize that 

he would spend much of his adult life not on the waves, but under them.

In 1959, after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy and serving 

on Navy submarines for several years, Walsh took a position as first 

officer-in-charge of the bathyscaphe Trieste, a deep-diving submersible 

based out of the Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego. 

On Jan. 23, 1960, Walsh and co-pilot Jacques Piccard took Trieste

on a record-breaking dive to the deepest place in the world’s ocean: the 

Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, 35,840 feet (almost seven 

miles) below the surface. 

Only one other person has repeated the feat — filmmaker James 

Cameron, who made the descent solo in the Deepsea Challenger in 

STARoftheSEA

Finding Inspiration in the World’s Least Hospitable Places 

Captain Don Walsh, USN (ret.)

March. Walsh was there as a consultant, and says he was the “last 

person to shake [Cameron’s] hand before he closed the hatch, and the 

first person to shake his hand when he opened it.”

For someone who has spent so much time on and under the water, it 

may come as a surprise that one of the places closest to Walsh’s heart 

is Antarctica, the driest continent on Earth. He first visited the frozen 

land in 1971, and it left a lasting impression. “You look out there and you 

can see these wonderful mountains — it’s indescribable, and you just 

keep going back,” he says.

And go back he has, returning for numerous expeditions 

over the years, including a 74-day circumnavigation of the 

continent in 2002-2003. He says it’s impossible to travel 

there without feeling a special connection to the place.

“There’s this sense of history when you walk in the footsteps of these great explorers,” Walsh says. “You feel it’s 

worthwhile showing people the grandeur of these places.” 

Scenic beauty aside, Walsh says, places like Antarctica and the 

Challenger Deep are special because of what we can learn from them. 

Where pioneering expeditions once planted flags, scientists now plant 

instruments that reveal insights into the past, present and future of our 

planet — and how we can best adapt to a changing world. 

Even in an era of remote-controlled robots and unmanned submersibles, Walsh says, science like this is still at its most compelling when 

it’s a human being braving the polar elements or plunging to the bottom 

of the sea. “There’s a certain interest in humans doing things in extreme 

environments, the drama of it,” he says.

And that drama is what gets people to care — about protecting a 

special place, learning more about the world, or even doing some exploration of their own.

The submersible Trieste was the vehicle for 

Walsh’s 1960 descent into the Challenger Deep.

Photo by US Navy via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

“I define exploration as curiosity that’s acted upon... 

 not everyone is willing to follow that impulse.”

Photo: Sue Flood

Honorary President, The Explorers Club President, International Maritime Inc.
6 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

Celebrating 40 Years

1 2 3 4 5 6

5

3

4

6

Tad N. – The lax field!

Katalin Z. – Walking to this pier to see the sunrise when I was little.

Vicki W. – Canada family retreat my great-grandfather built in the ‘40s.

Andy C. – I paddled into this amazing bay on North Shore Moloka’i.

1

2

Andrea G. – This blue grotto on the Island of Capri. It’s really that blue!

Leilani T. – Waimea Bay, Oahu. Its status as a sanctuary is so very important.

Eric A. Evans

My Special Place is within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary — James Island outside the Quileute village 

of La Push. The Quileute tribe used the island much like a 

castle in times of war. Tribal chiefs are buried on its top, a 

place of honor off limits to outsiders. Still, it is a wonderful, 

warming view from First Beach on the Olympic Coast.

Jim Cassick

My favorite place is diving with the 

Tarpon Springs SCUBAnauts. Here 

we are preparing for a dive at Shark 

Alley in Freeport, Bahamas.

Hallie Sacks

My special place is Kangerlussuaq, 

Greenland. I’ve never felt smaller 

than I did there, standing in the vastness of true wilderness. I also saw 

the aurora borealis that night!

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

flowergarden.noaa.gov

Midway Atoll - Eastern 

Island at sunrise. Andy 

Collins

papahanaumokuakea.gov

Olympic Coast National 

Marine Sanctuary

nationalgeographic.com

To celebrate the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ 40th anniversary, we asked you to 

These photos are part of our “Sanctuary Friends” board on Pinterest, where we’re collecting awesome ocean images pinned 

by other Pinterest users. Join the fun at http://pinterest.com/nmsanctuaries!

What’s Your Special 

Humpback Whale National 

Marine Sanctuary, Maui, 

Hawaii, USA

wikimedia.org

Aquarius Laboratory; “ A 

school of fish swims past 

the underwater research 

laboratory Aquarius, located 62 feet (19 meters) 

beneath the Florida Keys 

National Marine Sanctuary.” (National Geographic)

webshots.com

 Anniversary th 40 1972 2012

Highlights Highlights
Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 7

Special

7 8 9 10

9

7

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Matt D. – A sunset sail in Maho Bay, St John — I’ve never felt so relaxed.

Jenny S. – Trans-bay swims across the San Andreas Fault, Tomales Bay.

Kate T. – My family memories at Lake Tomahawk, Wis.

Claire F. – Secret coves in Hawai‘i where I grew up snorkeling.

Liked 4,827

Erdem Dedebas

My most special place: Istanbul, Turkey. I have this special 

connection with my home city (and that’s probably why I 

go back every summer). The city is divided in two by the 

sea and in order to travel between the two parts, you need 

to take a ferry like the one pictured. 

11 12

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Matt M. – Bethany Beach where I spent summers as a kid. Now my 3 boys do!

Helene S. – Rocky Island Wave in the Potomac where I met my husband.

share your special places with us. See more on Facebook!

 Place?

Monterey Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary.

google.com

The West Indian manatee 

in Florida, which can live 

as long as 60 years, is 

protected under several 

federal laws.

treehugger.com

Tweets

John Ewald @JohnNOAA

@sanctuaries My pic last yr of Santa Barbara coast 

near Channel Is Sanctuary; an amazing place with 

so many ocean users pic.twitter.com/yGDrQdub

Andrew Snowhite @asnowhite

@sanctuaries Yes! Lucky enough to see Eastern 

North Pacific Gray #whales in Baja!

13m

21m

24m

Sanctuaries (NOAA) @sanctuaries

For NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries 40th, we’re 

asking you to share your special places with us. 

Twitpic with why it’s special @sanctuaries

3m

Nicole Marie @nicolemarie212

@sanctuaries My favorite place is Sandy Hook, NJ.

pic.twitter.com/Qdp6WES5
8 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

A Conversation with Chesapeake Watermen

Reflections on the bay

To find out more about the connections between people and special places, we sat down with Chesapeake Bay 

watershed residents Joe Scrivener, Tommy Zinn, Craig Kelly and Phil Watson to talk about life along the bay.

Growing up on the Water

Sanctuary Watch (SW): Did your family work the water when you were 

growing up?

Craig Kelly (CK): No, but I grew up around 

it. I was born and raised at Point Lookout, before the state even thought of having a state 

park down there. Y’know, being a seven- or 

eight-year-old kid, catching crabs and oysters 

and fish, I mean that’s exciting as hell! 

SW: How did you get hooked on the 

water?

CK: I was working with [a friend], and he’d 

inherited fish nets from his dad, so I was helping him, you see... we said, “Let’s put some 

crab pots out.” Caught a few crabs, sold them, 

next thing you know we was oysterin’. Then I 

found a girlfriend and we kinda parted ways, 

but I just picked up where we left off, and I’ve 

been making a living out of it ever since.

Phil Watson (PW): I grew up on a farm, 

my dad was a farmer and he was also a waterman, and a lot of the time he would fish 

gill nets. I’d go down with him and I’d sit in 

the back of that boat and damn near freeze to 

death. He’d never seem to get cold! I didn’t 

find out until later on in the years when I 

started working the nets that when you’re active you don’t get cold! 

PW: We’ve had a lot of hours on the water, 

fortunately, and to grow up in the area that I 

grew up in and have access to the river and 

the bay and marshland — I’ve had a good life.

A Special Place

SW: What makes the bay special?

Joe Scrivener (JS): There’s so many 

things here, it’s not just crabs and fish and 

oysters. It’s the daggone ducks swimming up 

and down this creek here, the seagulls, the 

bald eagles we see around here all the time. 

CK: The mama duck with the babies...

JS:...the eggs that my grandson found that the 

duck just laid down there underneath the truck.

Tommy Zinn (TZ): Sunrises, sunsets...

JS: When [charter passengers] ride out 

there with us to go fishing in the morning, 

and they get to see that sun come up over 

that water, that’s the only thing they can 

think of when they get home, seeing that 

sunrise, how we caught a fish this long...

TZ: At the Solomon’s boardwalk, every 

night during the summer there’s probably 20 

people taking pictures of the sunset. Doesn’t 

cost them a nickel. Don’t have to be rich just 

to come down and see some of the sights.

JS: Just take a picture right here, looking 

down this creek out there to the river.

PW:You can’t do any better than this. [laughs]

8 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

Photo courtesy of Jay Fleming Photography, www.jayflemingphotography.com
Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 9

Phil Watson 

As a fourth-generation Maryland 

native born and raised in Baden, 

Watson has been a lifelong steward of the watershed. Originally 

from a family of farmers and watermen, he now spends much of 

his time crabbing and fishing on 

the middle Patuxent River.

Craig Kelly

Kelly settled in Point Lookout, 

Md., in the ’40s, where he discovered and developed his love for 

the water business. For the last 

40 years, Kelly has worked as a 

commercial waterman crabbing 

and oystering along the lower 

Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. 

Joe Scrivener

A second-generation waterman 

from Drayden, Md., Scrivener 

makes his living as a charter 

captain and owns a seafood 

wholesale company with his son. 

Previously, he has worked as a 

full-time fisherman, oysterman 

and crabber.

Tommy Zinn

Zinn is full-time commercial 

crabber employed as a trotliner 

on the lower Patuxent River. He 

was born into a family of working 

watermen in Lusby, Md., and has 

served as the president of the 

Calvert County Watermen’s Association for the last eight years.

Photos: Michiko Martin

Changes in the 

Chesapeake

SW: What kind of changes have you 

seen in the Chesapeake over the 

years?

PW: I’ve seen so many changes. I’m 82 

years old, and I’ve lived here all my life. One 

of the biggest changes in the latter years is 

the marshes where I live [along the Patuxent 

River] are dying. I would safely say we’re 

losing at least two, maybe three feet of marsh 

a year. In 50 years, a lot of places where we 

have marsh now there’s going to be all water.

TZ: Back in the day, guys from southern 

Maryland used to go to the Eastern Shore and 

tong over there during the good weather up 

till Christmas because it was more productive. 

Now, the average age of watermen is late 50’s, 

and they don’t want to travel like they used to. 

It’s more competitive trying to work an area 

where there used to be oysters everywhere.

SW: With all the changes you’ve 

seen, do you think the Chesapeake is 

losing a lot of what makes it special?

JS: I don’t think anyone would ever lose 

their love for this body of water. Craig, if 

he quit crabbing tomorrow, he would still be 

out there doing something... But to lose it 

so you can’t put your foot in the water or 

your grandchildren can’t go in there or even 

be close to it because [they might get sick], 

that’s heartbreaking just to think about.

SW: You must feel protective of this 

place, having spent so much of your 

lives here.

JS: It just makes you mad, because you love 

it so much. But what can one person do? Unfortunately, there’s how many people on the 

bay between here and the Susquehanna? It’s 

not just the five of us sitting at this table.

Making Connections, 

Changing Perceptions

SW: Do you think bringing people 

out on the water will give them a 

greater appreciation for what makes 

it special? 

TZ: You try to encourage people to come 

down and have a positive experience, soak 

their feet in the bay, walk down the bay shore 

and pick up some shells, get them to interact 

or connect with that resource, and maybe that 

can draw an appreciation for it like we do. 

JS: You need to have some positive talk 

about the bay, how valuable it is to us, how 

pretty it is — the birds and everything else 

around here. 

TZ: They would see that it’s just as important 

as Mount Rushmore, or some of them landmarks... That’s our national monument right 

here, the bay, and we want to preserve it, and 

we want them to take care of it along with us.

PW: Absolutely.

SW: When you have a bunch of people that care very deeply about someplace, that’s infectious, and that can 

help others understand.

PW: Of course, no doubt about it.

JS: And that’s probably what we need more 

of here, too.

TZ: Joe probably spends half his time taking fishing parties out, telling them the right 

thing to do, and why he might do something 

a certain way, and I hope some of it sinks 

into those people.

TZ: I think maybe they will connect the dots 

and say, “Hey, if we don’t start cleaning up our 

act this isn’t going to get any better, it’s going 

to get worse. We’re not going to have any more 

watermen, they’re all going to be tour guides! 

They’re all going to be in a museum.”
10 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

The Power of Place: 

SURFING OLYMPIC COAST NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

by Robert Steelquist

10 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012
Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 11

Bone-chilling water. A thousand shades of gray. A northwesterly swell, just in from 

somewhere near Kamchatka. 

Two veteran surfers start 

down the steep cliff-face on 

the Makah Indian Reservation. Beneath them, 

confused waves bend and collide around 

rocks near the beach. But offshore, the sets 

are lining up perfectly with jade-green barrels 

breaking to the right. 

For Arnold Schouten, 62, and Darryl 

Wood, 64, who have surfed Washington’s 

frigid waters for a combined nine decades, 

the waters of Olympic Coast National Marine 

Sanctuary have no equal. For one thing, they 

are close to home. For another, as Schouten 

puts it, “there’s the whole package — the color of the water, sea otters popping up, seabirds 

and the incredible coastline.” 

Schouten learned to surf on Long Island, 

N.Y., where, as a kid, he and friends pioneered 

many of the local surf spots. His first encounter with the Olympic Coast came after moving here in the ’70s and meeting Darryl Wood, 

who had been surfing the Olympic Peninsula 

since 1963. Darryl had scouted many breaks, 

but settled on one particular wave near Cape 

Flattery. For years, Darryl and Arnold were 

the only two surfers on the water. “We would 

have been happy to see other surfers out there, 

mainly because we were tired of hearing each 

others’ stories,” Schouten joked. 

What started out as their “secret spot” has 

attracted more, but still not a lot more, surfers. Both agree that it’s their favorite wave in 

the world. Schouten points out, however, that 

“Surfing the Olympic Coast isn’t just about 

riding the waves, but it’s the environment you 

are in. On a sunny day, there’s no place more 

beautiful anywhere in the world. In addition, I have an attraction to the wildlife that’s 

out there — seabirds, marine mammals, the 

beach animals, so I like to take it all in when 

I go out there.” 

Both men are active with the local chapter 

of Surfrider Foundation, an emerging force in 

local conservation activities, including beach 

cleanups, trail maintenance, relationships with 

property owners and advocacy for the ocean, 

including what happens upstream. Asked 

about the younger generation of surfers and 

their conservation, Wood said: “I work with 

several other volunteer groups. It’s the same 

in any volunteer group. You always have five 

to 10 percent who do all the work.” Schouten 

picks up “I’m disappointed when I see people 

come here to surf and not be very interested 

in what’s around them — the wildlife, or the 

whole ecosystem of the marine environment.”

What is the force that both men feel in 

surfing? “Ocean Juice,” they say in unison, 

laughing that the words come from both at 

the same time. Schouten elaborated, “I spent 

some time in my life not surfing, but I never 

forgot that feeling of catching a wave, standing up, dropping in and riding along the face 

of the wave, appreciating the energy of the 

ocean. That feeling that you conquered something in that wave and you kicked out on the 

back side of it. That never, ever, went away. I 

think that’s the essence of it.” 

But clearly, for both men, it’s not just about 

the waves or the ride. It’s about the whole 

package — the complex 

interactions of physical 

force, ecological richness, drop-dead scenic 

beauty, and being in the 

tiny minority of surfers 

who have discovered a place of their own on 

this ocean planet. It’s called Cape Flattery.

Ocean Juice. The Power of Place. The 

desire to preserve these qualities in the environment and to encourage younger surfers to discover and practice their own brand 

of stewardship. For these elder statesmen of 

Olympic Coast waves, twin passions of surfing and serving the environment are shining 

examples for young and old alike.

Arnold Schouten catches a wave on Washington’s Olympic Coast. Schouten (above, 

right) and Darryl Wood (above, left) have 

been surfing this coastline for decades.

“Surfing the Olympic Coast isn’t just about riding 

the waves, but it’s the environment you are in.”

Background Photo: Flickr user “Hugo90,” Surfing Photo: Debbie Schouten

Photo: Debbie Schouten
12 Sanctuary Watch Spring 2012

Common 

Return to turtle beach

Name: Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

Scientific Name: Lepidochelys olivacea

------------------------------------------

Max. Length: 31 inches (80 centimeters)

Max. Weight: 110 pounds (50 kilograms)

Distribution: Tropical oceans worldwide

Diet: Crabs, shrimp, jellyfish, mollusks, tunicates, algae

Status: Endangered/threatened

All sea turtles leave the water to lay their eggs, making 

the beaches where they nest critical to their survival. The 

olive ridley takes this behavior a step further, with one of 

the most extraordinary nesting habits in the natural world.

Every year, generation after generation, olive ridleys return to the beach where they 

were born to lay their eggs. Sometimes, huge numbers of female turtles converge on a 

single beach at once in what is known as an “arribada.” The Spanish word for “arrival,” 

an arribada can involve anywhere from hundreds to thousands of turtles, each one laying 

a clutch of about 100 eggs. No other turtle species nests in such massive gatherings.

While the olive ridley is widely distributed throughout tropical ocean waters — sailors have reported seeing them more than 2,400 miles from shore — these arribadas only 

happen at a select few beaches around the globe. Scientists have yet to unravel the 

mystery of what triggers an arribada, but what we do know is that these remarkable 

events are a powerful reminder of the importance of place in the natural world.

Critter Files

 Special Place Protection

Few creatures on Earth evoke images of endangered wildlife and environmental stewardship quite like the giant panda. This iconic symbol of the global conservation 

movement is loved by millions, and yet it still faces the 

very real threat of extinction. Agriculture, poaching and 

other human activities have drastically reduced the panda’s range and population to a fraction of what they once 

were.

In many ways, the plight of the panda represents the delicate relationship between humans and nature — not just on 

land, but in the sea as well. The ocean may be vast, but 

many marine species rely on very specific habitats and environmental conditions for survival. The endangered black abalone, for instance, would survive a move from its preferred 

rocky shores to deeper water about as well as a panda would 

a move to the desert. 

Like the panda, ocean-dwelling creatures face threats from human activities 

that have left their natural habitats ailing and fragmented. Protected areas 

like panda reserves and national marine sanctuaries are working to preserve 

and restore these special places, but much work remains 

to be done.

Assignment:

Photo: Flickr user “fortherock”

Photo: Jerry Bauer, U.S. Forest Service
Critter Files

Home Is Where the Hermit Is

Common Name: Hermit Crab

Scientific Name: Pagurus spp.

------------------------------------------

Max. Length: 3.25 inches (8 centimeters)

Max. Weight: 3.35 ounces (95 grams)

Distribution: Rocky or sandy bottom; temperate and tropical oceans worldwide

Diet: Detritus, platnkton

Status: Stable

Have you ever spotted a seemingly empty shell on a 

beach suddenly sprout claws, eyes and legs before scurrying away at top speed? That’s no ordinary shell — it’s a mobile 

home for one of nature’s pickiest house hunters: the hermit crab.

Hermit crabs rely on their shells. These special places are both their home and protector, and they take the selection of their next dwelling quite seriously. When a hermit 

crab outgrows its shell, it needs to search for a suitable replacement. Once it finds a 

roomier option, it will often pick up the shell, turn it over, poke its claws inside, and 

inspect it from the back, just like a discerning homebuyer. It may try the new shell on, 

wiggling its soft posterior into the shell, then jump right back into the original. The 

best shell wins — even if they have to wrestle it from a neighbor. 

In some areas, hermit crab growth and reproduction can be limited by a short shell supply. In a tough housing market, hermit crabs have to be picky — and even a little aggressive — because nothing is more important than the place we call home.

Nowhere Else to Go

Common Name: Vaquita

Scientific Name: Phocoena sinus

------------------------------------------

Max. Length: 4.9 feet (1.5 meters)

Max. Weight: 120 pounds (55 kilograms)

Distribution: Northern Gulf of California

Diet: Fish, squid

Status: Critically endangered

This little porpoise with a shy smile is one of the rarest sights in the animal kingdom, 

and sadly, it continues to get even rarer. Distinguished by the dark patches around its 

eyes and lips, the vaquita (Spanish for “little cow”) is the smallest and most endangered 

cetacean on Earth. Catching a glimpse of this elusive creature requires a trip to the warm, 

muddy waters of Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, where fewer than 300 vaquitas remain 

in the wild. Its tiny geographic range of less than 900 square miles is reflected in its 

scientific species name, sinus, Latin for “pocket” or “recess.” 

Every year, an estimated 40 vaquitas are killed by accidental capture and drowning in 

fishing nets — a heavy blow to an already fragile population. Ongoing research and conservation efforts are working to rescue this species from extinction, but time is running 

out. As an endemic species (one found nowhere else in the world) the vaquita is a symbol 

of the importance of special places to many marine creatures. Without swift action, it 

may soon become a cautionary tale. 

Spring 2012 Sanctuary Watch 13

Photo: Warren Rohner

Illustration: Barbara Taylor
Photo: Carey van Blommestein

SANCTUARYSNAPSHOT In celebration of the 40th anniversary of our national marine sanctuaries, we asked readers to 

show us their favorite places. Carey van Blommestein shared this photo of Yanchep National Park in western Australia, where she 

loves to watch the sun go down while listening to the sounds of kookaburras, kangaroos and other wildlife. Look inside this issue 

for stories about how our connection to special places like this one can help us adapt to a changing world.